While I appreciate games that bring something new or different to the table, whether in terms of gameplay or even personality, there are some titles that simply leave me shaking my head. Whether the problem is ill-defined objectives, poor controls and mechanics, or play that leaves me with nothing but a sense of indifference, some experiences just don’t work out. With its murky pixel graphics, lackluster controls, and a crass sense of humor that isn’t backed up with solid play, NetherWorld is one such title for me.

Billed as an adventure, and featuring a protagonist who is apparently a terrible husband, drunkard, and pretty much an all-around jackass, the game gets off to a poor start in trying to help you identify with your character. You have limited capabilities, the poor level of detail makes it visually hard to track what you’re doing or even see you clearly at times, and that problem is only exacerbated by the screen getting blurry whenever you’re intoxicated. Worse, when you do get into some action, whether in mini games or boss fights, and you need to at least have the controls working on your side, they tend to let you down with slowness and inconsistency.

If I had to hazard a guess, one of the prime drivers that is meant to divert your attention away from it being a pretty miserable gaming experience is the abundance of crass humor. Perhaps if it can be inappropriate enough you’ll just accept the gameplay and suffer through it to see more weird characters and pretty juvenile humor? If that formula works for some people, that’s great for them, the game may work out in that case. However, if you’d like to first be engaged by a great (or even modestly playable) gameplay first, with some humor to simply add fun and flavor, rather than being the game’s best foot forward, you’ll want to give this a hard pass.